


The Absence of Guidance

by neonkorok



Series: The Bright Hand Oneshots [3]
Category: Dungeons & Dragons (Roleplaying Game), Original Work
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Family Issues, Gen, Hurt No Comfort, Kym has a hard time dealing with the fact that she's just left her entire family behind, Kym's family has so many issues istg, Sad Ending, Well - Freeform, but the good severely outweighs the bad, but there's more hurt afterwards, but wouldn't you?, enjoy, for realsies this time, like do they have any redeeming qualities?, the answer is yes, there's a little bit of comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:49:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24261610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/neonkorok/pseuds/neonkorok
Summary: In which Kym is sad, Leu and Cothea are mad, and Triton is bad. Mik is just trying his best.
Relationships: Kymopoleia "Kym" Ybdis & Cothea Ybdis, Kymopoleia "Kym" Ybdis & Leu Ybdis, Kymopoleia "Kym" Ybdis & Mik Miyashita, Kymopoleia "Kym" Ybdis & Triton Ybdis
Series: The Bright Hand Oneshots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1716025
Kudos: 3





	The Absence of Guidance

**Author's Note:**

> Howdy, folks, I'm back again with another D&D fic because apparently that's the only thing I write now.

_I'll teach you to insult my family one more time._

The words rang around in Kym’s head as she stared up at the high ceiling of the wizard Rodmund’s tower. The events of the day had her on high alert even as she attempted to sleep, and she finally decided that it was a fruitless endeavor. She sat up with a sigh, glancing around the room to make sure that everyone was alright.

Most of the group was sleeping where they were scattered across the floor. Calendor and Anemone were snuggling as Plu slept fitfully behind them, and Roon lay starfished over their bedroll on the other side of the room. Mik was the only one awake, staring down at the egg in his arms, seemingly lost in thought. Kym hoped he hadn't gone into another one of those trances. He always came out of them discombobulated and confused, as though he'd gone away to another world.

Kym snorted at the thought. That was exactly what had happened.

Mik looked up at the noise, and Kym relaxed a bit at the clarity in his eyes. She picked herself up off the floor and made her way to her companion in restlessness.

“Can't sleep?” Mik asked as she sat down beside him. Kym imagined him giving her a lopsided smile beneath his mask.

“No.” She glanced down at his egg. “You too?”

Mik sighed, running his hand over its uneven surface. “Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, though it was not an uncomfortable quiet. Kym’s eyelids drooped even as adrenaline still pumped through her veins. She was going to crash eventually, she knew, but it wouldn't be for at least a few more hours.

“How…” Mik began, pausing as he tried to find the right words to ask whatever was on his mind.

“How are you holding up?” he asked eventually, and Kym almost laughed. She settled on a bitter smile instead.

“To be quite honest, I feel like I've just been run over by a horde of lynels and sat on by a hinox.” she responded. “Then perhaps chewed on by a ghoul.”

Mik laughed softly. “Yeah, I can see that.”

Kym punched him on the shoulder. “What's that supposed to mean?”

Mik just laughed even harder. “Sorry, sorry. You just…you don't look so good, is all.”

Kym deflated. “Yeah.”

They sat in silence for a few minutes, though, this time, it was far from comfortable. There was a tension in the air, one that begged to be chased away, even if Kym didn't quite know how to do so.

“I'm sorry.” she finally said, if only to break the suffocating feeling.

“For what?” Mik asked, his eyebrows knitting together. He tugged the egg closer, almost as though he was giving it a hug.

“For…what happened with my family.” Kym’s hands tightened into fists in her lap, and she clasped them together to hide their shaking. “I can't say that I expected them to react to us in the manner that they did, and I apologize for not preparing you for what I honestly should have known was going to happen when we reunited.”

“Hey.” Mik removed one arm from the egg to set a hand on Kym’s arm. “It's not your fault. Your sisters were under the influence of that potion and your brother was just a big jerk. You don't have to apologize for them.”

“They're my family.” Kym said, and as she spoke the words, the gravity of what she had done that day became apparent to her. Her throat suddenly felt very tight.

“Sure, but you aren't your family members.” Mik looked a bit uncomfortable at the direction this conversation was going, but he still charged ahead. “Their actions don't reflect on you. Triton made the choice to attack us, to attack _you,_ and it's not your fault that you didn't see it coming. You love your family. Thinking about them turning over to the side of evil, betraying everything you thought you knew about them, undermining every good quality you thought they had…it's hard.”

Kym suddenly got the impression that they were now talking about a very different topic. Before she had the chance to ask, Mik shook his head forcefully.

“Uh, anyway.” He cleared his throat uncomfortably. “What I'm trying to say is, you don't need to apologize. But, if it makes you feel better, I forgive you.”

Kym smiled gratefully at him. “Thank you.”

Mik nodded stiffly in response, retreating to his huddle over the egg. Kym moved back to her bedroll after wishing him a good night to be alone with her thoughts.

Kym didn't magically feel better after their talk, but she did feel a bit more settled, more sure of herself. She wondered, if she had gone back to her family instead, whether anyone would speak with her about her concerns like this. Remembering the bloodlust in Leu and Cothea’s eyes from the effects of that potion and the hatred in Triton’s from pure arrogance, she didn't think they would.

Still, she couldn't help but wish that things had worked out differently. That she had convinced Leu and Cothea to her side, or managed to make Triton see the error in his ways, or _something_ that would mean that she hadn't completely turned her back on her family. But here she was, surrounded by people she'd known less than half a year, actively going against the will of her family, of the only people she'd ever known before coming to this place.

“Naydra, guide me.” she prayed quietly, her eyes shut tight against the darkness. “Show me that what I've done was right. Show me that I haven't betrayed you by following my heart. Please, just give me a sign.”

Nothing came, which she took as a sign all on its own. If she had lost Naydra’s grace, perhaps she really was a traitor.

She turned onto her side, facing the wall. As her eyes slowly drifted shut, she replayed memories of all the times she had spent laughing with Cothea, playing with Leu, plotting with Triton. She remembered the good times, the bad times, and the times that were neither. She remembered patching up Cothea as she took on yet another beast far too strong for her to handle alone, watching Leu craft artful and sturdy weapons, just like their mother, and helping Triton make his beloved tuna casserole as they both attempted to corral the littlest children of the family.

Finally, after a long hour of heart-breaking nostalgia, Kym managed to cry herself to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> I had so many feels after our last session. Just. So many.
> 
> Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed :')

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [The Ghost of You Haunts and Hurts](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24266719) by [Eun_writes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eun_writes/pseuds/Eun_writes)




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